Born of chainsaws: Glen, the Glenwood mascot

Wood chips spewed, and over the whine of power tools, chants of "eagle!" could be heard.

The ponytailed performance artist Michael Higgins - wielding chainsaws, a leaf blower, angle-grinders and a blowtorch - carved a studious mascot, Glen the Golden Eagle, last Thursday afternoon from a 300-pound pine log that had been stripped of bark.

Glen is reading, perched on a stack of books. The theatrical creation took 30 minutes, with the enthralled Glenwood Elementary School student body assembled on the sloping side lawn. Students knew only that their mascot would be revealed. They didn't know it would be carved from wood, with chainsaws, in front of their very eyes.

Higgins, from Tiverton, R.I., said he maintains a healthy fear of power tools, especially chainsaws. "It may look like I'm crazy, but I'm always aware of where the saws are, and how they're cutting. I am afraid of the saws," he told students.

He explained his use of earplugs, the Kevlar boots taped to his calves, and special glasses to protect his eyes from dust and chips.

Paying attention in school is the only reason he is able to make a living today as "a weird guy with a chainsaw," he told students. He loves learning new vocabulary words and keeps a thesaurus and a dictionary in his truck. He also is a regular library patron, frequently checking out reference materials, including photographs of the creatures he carves.

"I don't go hacking down trees in peoples' backyards in the middle of the night," he

said. "My logs come from sawmills, from trees that have already been cut down. If you're going to cut down a tree, take it down for a good reason, and use it for something positive. Plant a tree to replace it."

Glenwood librarian Patty Inwood worked with students for months on the mascot project, discussing the definition of a mascot and why many schools have one. Students brainstormed a list of 20 possibilities, then whittled it down to three: the Gators, the Golden Eagles and the Gophers.

Performance artist Michael Higgins carved a golden eagle from a pine log at a recent school assembly. Joyce Roberts photos Then it was put to electronic vote, using Turning Point software. The Golden Eagles won by a landslide, culling about 48 percent of votes, with the remaining votes split evenly between Gators and Gophers.

Only three people in the school - Inwood, principal Kelley Nosel, and assistant principal Sean O'Shea - knew the results of the vote. It was O'Shea who invited Higgins to Glenwood. His visit and wood creation were paid for by the students' magazine drive, the main fundraiser for the student activities account.

Glen the Golden Eagle now greets visitors in the Glenwood lobby.

"People love him already," Nosel said. "The little kids wave to him as they walk by."

Over the summer Higgins will give Glen some finishing touches, including five coats of varnish to protect his custom paint job from small, loving hands.